Success at Val Verde Unified School District
The Val Verde Unified School District (VVUSD) in Riverside County, California, is dedicated to serving a diverse population of approximately 20,000 K-12 students across Perris, Moreno Valley, and Riverside. Our commitment to addressing chronic absenteeism is reflected in our effective Student Attendance Review Board (SARB) program, which is supported by a team of five Teachers On Special Assignment (TOSA).
Attendance Improvement through SART and SARB Meetings
VVUSD emphasizes a preventative approach to maximize student achievement by utilizing Student Attendance Review Team (SART) and SARB meetings. These meetings are scheduled based on students’ absences throughout the school year. Specifically, SART meetings occur when a student reaches 5 absences in the first semester and 9 absences in the second semester. Our TOSAs conduct these meetings on a one-on-one basis with parents. At the elementary level, meetings take place at the student services office, while secondary meetings are held on-site and include the student.
During these meetings, we work to identify barriers to attendance early on and provide families with the necessary resources tailored to their unique situations. This personalized approach often leads to significant improvements in both student attendance and academic achievement.
Home Visits and Collaborative SARB Meetings
For students who continue to struggle with attendance, our team organizes SARB meetings that involve a collaborative panel to offer additional support to families. These meetings are convened in our student services conference room once a student reaches 8 absences in the first semester and 13 absences in the second semester. The panel typically includes all TOSAs, our CWA Director, a district nurse, a mental health representative, an attendance technician, our District attorney, and a member from the family justice center.
With the support of our District attorney, we can provide families with even more resources to enhance student attendance before any referrals to mediation are necessary. Despite our strong efforts, we face ongoing challenges, particularly with a lack of participation from some parents. In these cases, we intensify our outreach efforts.
Our team conducts home visits for families we struggle to contact, ensuring we speak to them directly at their door. This personal approach is crucial in making sure no student slips through the cracks.
Over the past 11 years, our SARB program has concentrated on combating chronic absenteeism, and we are proud to have been recognized as a Model SARB recipient four times. Through our dedicated efforts, we have achieved a district-wide attendance rate of 96.7%, all accomplished without a district-wide transportation system.
We continue to work as a team to reflect on our practices each year and adjust as needed to ensure student success! We are happy to work alongside other districts to both teach and learn new methods to improve attendance.
The Val Verde Unified School District team is happy to share their best practices and success strategies with your district. View their presentation at https://vimeo.com/661781242 and feel free to reach out to Maddy at the below information for more detail.
Check out their press release at https://www.yahoo.com/now/val-verde-unified-school-district-173000107.html.
